~ROAC~ (incomplete)

"There you go, there you go somewhere.
You're not coming back."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She knew it was coming, but so soon? So abruptly?

Bell leaned her head back against the stone-speckled dirt wall. Her face was streaked with tears. How had everything been so right, then gone downhill so swiftly?

Why now?

Things were good, so very good, and then they returned from Hogsmeade- and Dumbledore had a letter- and McGonagall looked sad, really sad, for the first time Bell had ever seen. Her heart had sunk immediately and her smile faded quickly as her Head of House beckoned her to follow them up to Dumbledore's office. Lily and Marlene wouldn't let her go without them. Each held one of her hands all the way up the stairs. The rest of their friends had insisted on coming too- but McGonagall had shooed them away, back to their dorm. Sirius had protested strongly, but by the time he managed to get free from the grips of a frowning Remus and a tight-lipped James, Bell was gone up the stairs. 

In the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore finally handed her the letter. It was creased seven ways, and Bell immediately knew who it was from- her father. She was surprised. He hadn't ever written to her at Hogwarts before, and she wondered how he'd even gotten it here. Unfolding the parchment, a sense of dread came over her. Lily stepped back, and Marlene followed her lead, leaving the words for their intended recipient first.

Evangeline,

Her father was the only one to ever call her by her first name, further proving it was him, along with the spidery handwriting and the azure ink. He only ever wrote in that shade. Said it reminded him of her mother, whose favorite color was blue.

If you're reading this, I'm dead.

Bell's face went white.

I don't know if it will be hard for you to hear this. Selfishly, I hope it will.

She tried to process it.

I know we've had our differences.

Differences? The man was a perpetually-exhausted alcoholic. Bell started trembling.

And I'm sorry for everything I ever said about that school.

The summer before this school year, they'd had a fight. A bad one, too. Her father said she was wasting her time at Hogwarts, that he wasn't even sure it was a real place, how could magic even be real if she couldn't show him? And she'd protested it was because she was too young, she'd be breaking the wizarding law, and Hogwarts was more of a home for her than his house had been for the last few years. At that, he'd practically thrown her out, though he could only do so with his words, stumbling around like the drunk he was. Bell had lived with her sister and her sister-in-law since then, for all of August. 

I hope you're happy there.

She was. She really was. Bell would have smiled to herself had she not been so struck with shock. 

Tell that friend of yours- Sirius, that was his name, wasn't it? -he has my permission to marry you someday.

Bell's hand came up to cover her mouth and nose. By Merlin- Her father had met Sirius two, no three now, summers ago, when he and the rest of her friends (excepting Persephone, who she didn't know well yet) had come up to visit, just that one time. This was when he only drank at night and tried to stay sober when Bell was at home. Apparently he'd realized something between them before Bell herself had even recognized her own feelings for Sirius. Tears pricked at her eyes, her grief overcoming her surprise finally, and immediately felt arms slung around her from Lily, Marlene's following suit only a moment later.